1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air bag apparatus mounted to a vehicle, such as an automobile, and capable of protecting a passenger in an accident such as a side body collision.
2. Description of Related Art
To ensure the safety of passengers upon a vehicle collision, such as between automobiles or with a fixed object, in addition to a seat belt device usually employed, an air bag device has recently been proposed and used in automobiles. This device includes an air bag which, upon a collision, is inflated so that the inflated bag occupies a space between the passenger and a dashboard and/or a steering wheel of the vehicle, to cushion the passenger and prevent the passenger from being injured.
In such a device, the air bag is arranged in front of the passenger, and this is effective for protection during an accident such as a head-on collision, where the collision occurs in the direction of the movement of the vehicle. Nevertheless, passenger safety would be improved if provisions are made to protect the passenger during a side body collision of the vehicle since the passenger may collide with a side door or wall of the vehicle (e.g., when the vehicle side-swipes a fixed object or another vehicle or the vehicle is overturned at a high speed). Namely, the provision of the seat belt is very effective during a head-on collision, but is usually not effective when a side body collision occurs. Thus there is a strong demand for the provision of an additional means able to effectively function to protect the passenger even during a side body collision.
Accordingly, an air bag apparatus has been proposed wherein an air bag is arranged in a side door, laterally of a passenger, and when a side body collision occurs, is inflated so that the inflated air bag occupies a space between the side door and the passenger. (See U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,388). In this prior art, the air bag is stored in a space inside a door, laterally of a passenger, and a hinged cushion panel is provided for confining the air bag in the door. When a collision occurs, an inflator ejects air laterally of the door and causes the air bag to be inflated. The inflated air bag pushes against hinged panel so that the panel is pivoted about the bottom axis thereof, which causes a space to be created at the top end of the panel through which the air bag is inflated to thereby occupy the space between the door and the passenger.
In this prior art, the gas initially ejected laterally of the plane of the door, to pivot the panel about the bottom end thereof and create a space at the top of the panel through which the air bag is extended, but this means that only a poor use of the energy of the ejected gas flow is made, and thus it is difficult to ensure that the inflated air bag quickly occupies the space between the door and the passenger when a collision occurs.